Overwatch 2 Is Getting Cross-Progression, and Account Merging Is Coming for the Original Game [IGN]

Overwatch 2 will essentially replace the original Overwatch when the game is launched on October 4, 2022. The game will feature cross-progrssion across all formats, and Activision Blizzard has announced that you will be able to merge multiple accounts to bring across your existing Overwatch progression into the sequel.

“With the launch of cross-progression, players can merge multiple Overwatch accounts to carry progression and in-game cosmetics into Overwatch 2 on a single profile,” said an official statement. “Starting August 16, every player with a linked console account will be prompted at login to identify, select, and confirm the accounts you want to merge. Once you approve, we will prepare your accounts to be merged during the release of Overwatch 2.”

A graphic showing what elements will come with you

Overwatch 2 requires all players to have a Battle.net account, even on consoles. Essentially, progress from your linked console accounts will be stored on your Battle.net account which allows Overwatch 2 to share cosmetics and unlocks across the various linked accounts.

However, be warned – there’s only one opportunity to merge your console accounts, so make sure you double-check the accounts you want to merge before you accept.

Here’s the full process of merging your accounts:

• Log into Overwatch on your console account
• Follow on-screen prompts to scan a QR code on your phone
• Enter the code displayed on your console to link/create a Battle.net account
• Confirm your account on your next game login to merge.

That should be it – your console account will subsequently be merged with your Battle.net account. But once you’ve merged a console account with Battle.net you’ll be unable to add any other accounts from the same platform. Make sure you’re merging the correct account!

You can merge accounts from Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, and PC but only one per platform. Account merging is currently the only way for console players to carry over their progress into Overwatch 2, but PC players should see their progress automatically carry over into the upcoming sequel.

Once merged, all the items in the Hero Gallery of all your linked platforms will appear in the Battle.net account – letting you access any cosmetics that you’ve unlocked across the various platforms.

The merge also carries over in-game stats, with playtime and number of wins made up as a sum of all your totals, while stats such as highest accuracy and kill streaks will take the highest value from all merged accounts.

Want to read more about Overwatch 2? Check out Overwatch 2’s content roadmap to see what’s coming up, as well as why Overwatch is ditching its loot boxes.

Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.